Czech Smokestack-climbers Society

The Czech Smokestack-climbers Society (Czech: Svaz českých komínářů, SČK; informally komínáři) is a Czech civic association founded on 9 May 1981 and registered with the Ministry of the Interior as an občanské sdružení (civic association) ten years later. It brings together people who admire smokestacks and also climb them, and it carries out systematic cataloguing of smokestacks, including measurement and documentation. Today it has more than a thousand members, not only from the Czech Republic. The society's best-known public-facing project is KODA (koda.kominari.cz), described on its website as the world's largest smokestack database. KODA is a unique project focused on the documentation of smokestacks in the Czech Republic and abroad. Its knowledge is based on fieldwork done by members and contributors and on the study of historical resources; entries pass through validity control to ensure maximum accuracy and relevance. The creators and authors of the site are keen on chimneys and industrial architecture, and they offer their resources and experience to help conserve these structures and secure a useful, sustainable existence for them. The database and the society's work are stated to have no commercial or political ambitions and should never be linked with any type of activism. KODA organizes its content by "pregions" (regional listings), an interactive smokestack map, and a search function, and it publishes material on smokestack typology, methodology, attributes, a photoguide, a terminology dictionary, and a blog. The society also maintains a definition of what counts as a "prekiontric object": under the code of the Czech Smokestack-climbers Society, a smokestack higher than 15 m is a prekiontric object, as is a smokestack with a water tank and a carbonizing tower. The definition has evolved over decades and remains subject to discussion, gentle changes, and additions, largely because the term "smokestack" can be handled creatively. Generally accepted interpretation holds that a smokestack is a solid structure used as an exhaust for flue gases (smoke) from some technological device; cooling towers and malt-house chimneys are added exceptions, while living-house chimneys connected to local boilers are not treated as prekiontric objects even though they may fit the definition. KODA can store information about smokestacks outside the definition in special cases, accepting an object for its exceptional architectonic, aesthetic, technical, or cultural value, judged individually. The society is based in the Czech Republic, in Europe, and its contributors are members of SČK. Its activities are non-commercial and volunteer-driven, with an emphasis on fieldwork, historical research, and the collective memory of the association. The website carries a copyright notice "KODA © M.i.X 2008–2026 – CZ", indicating that the KODA web project has been maintained since 2008.

The Czech Smokestack-climbers Society (Svaz českých komínářů, SČK) was founded on 9 May 1981. Ten years later it was registered with the Ministry of the Interior as an občanské sdružení (civic association). From the beginning it has been an association of smokestack lovers who not only admire smokestacks but also climb them, and its activities include systematic cataloguing of smokestacks, including measurement and the creation of documentation. Over the decades the society has grown into a community of more than a thousand members, not only from the Czech Republic. Its members and contributors carry out fieldwork and study historical resources, and their findings are passed through validity control to ensure maximum accuracy and relevance. The society's public documentation effort is embodied in KODA, the world's largest smokestack database, which covers smokestacks in the Czech Republic and abroad. The KODA website carries a copyright notice "KODA © M.i.X 2008–2026 – CZ", indicating that the web project has been maintained since 2008. KODA organizes its content by "pregions" (regional listings), an interactive smokestack map, and a search function, and it publishes material on smokestack typology, methodology, attributes, a photoguide, a terminology dictionary, and a blog. The society also maintains a formal definition of a "prekiontric object": under the code of the Czech Smokestack-climbers Society, a smokestack higher than 15 m is a prekiontric object, as is a smokestack with a water tank and a carbonizing tower. This definition has evolved over decades and remains subject to discussion, gentle changes, and additions, largely because the term "smokestack" can be handled creatively. Generally accepted interpretation holds that a smokestack is a solid structure used as an exhaust for flue gases (smoke) from some technological device; cooling towers and malt-house chimneys are added exceptions, while living-house chimneys connected to local boilers are not treated as prekiontric objects even though they may fit the definition. KODA can store information about smokestacks outside the definition in special cases, accepting an object for its exceptional architectonic, aesthetic, technical, or cultural value, judged individually. The society states that the database and its work have never had any commercial or political ambitions and should never be linked with any type of activism. Its contributors are members of SČK based in the Czech Republic, Europe. The society's website includes a "Historical Window" (Historické Okénko) feature that recalls the association's collective memory and highlights notable contributions, reflecting an ongoing effort to preserve the culture and memory of the smokestack-climbing community.

• 2008

  KODA website copyright notice begins (KODA © M.i.X 2008–2026 – CZ), indicating the web project has been maintained since 2008.

• 1991

  Registered with the Ministry of the Interior as a civic association (občanské sdružení).

• 1981

  Czech Smokestack-climbers Society founded on 9 May 1981.

Non-commercial, volunteer-run documentation project and enthusiast society focused on smokestacks and industrial architecture, with no political or activist ambitions.

• KODA – world smokestack database

  The world's largest smokestack database, documenting smokestacks in the Czech Republic and abroad based on member fieldwork and historical research, with validity control.

• Interactive smokestack map

  An interactive map of smokestacks, part of the KODA database.

• Pregions (regional listings)

  Regional listings of smokestacks organized by area.

• Smokestack typology, methodology, attributes, photoguide, terminology dictionary

  Reference materials on smokestack classification, research methods, attributes, photography, and terminology.

• Historické Okénko (Historical Window)

  A feature recalling the association's collective memory and highlighting notable contributions.

1. 1KODA - world smokestack databasekoda.kominari.cz
2. 2KODA - Ident (EN) - Stack definitionkoda.kominari.cz
3. 3Czech Smokestack-climbers Societywikidata.org
4. 4Svaz českých komínářůcs.wikipedia.org